It's really their only choice. Most people don't want to see a Cain/JDS rematch just yet, Cormier won't fight him, Mark Hunt's record makes it difficult to hand him the shot if he beats Struve, and I think they'd be hesitant to give one to Struve (if he beats Hunt) since he got KO'ed in the first round by two guys that are still "in the mix."

I mean Overeem losing has put them in a rough spot, but the Bigfoot fight is almost un-sellable since Cain destroyed him so thoroughly the first time. Now I know that rematches almost always don't resemble the first fight (e.g. Cain-JDS), but I'm talking in terms of selling PPVs.

I really wish they would take Werdum out of the Nog fight. Werdum is easily the most logical #1 contender. But I guess they don't want to mess with TUF Brazil. I find that lame.

I think even an immediate JDS rubber match would be more sellable PPV wise than Cain-Bigfoot II.

Bah. It's too bad Juiceless Reem blew that fight against Bigfoot :\ I'm not the biggest Reem fan but I was hoping Reem would win just because of this exact mess, where there's no clear opponent for Cain, outside of Werdum who's booked.

Too bad Reem was too c0cky and passive, he really should not have lost that fight if he'd fought smart, even without the juice. Idiot Reem.

(am I allowed to call Reem an idiot? That's not fighter bashing is it? I mean he did act like an idiot after all...)

tonytr - It's really their only choice. Most people don't want to see a Cain/JDS rematch just yet, Cormier won't fight him, Mark Hunt's record makes it difficult to hand him the shot if he beats Struve, and I think they'd be hesitant to give one to Struve (if he beats Hunt) since he got KO'ed in the first round by two guys that are still "in the mix."

Actually I'd much prefer the Hunt-Struve winner getting the shot to Bigfoot. No one is going to forget how badly Bigfoot got ruined the first time.

And the Hunt-Struve winner would be a very legit contender. Whoever won that fight would be on a hell of a tear. You couldn't say they hadn't earned a title shot - Werdum is the only guy I'd rank higher in terms of contendership than the Struve-Hunt winner.

Hunt's overall record may not be good, but outside of McCorkle he's only lost to top guys. And he's clearly a very improved fighter since going to ATT, especially his TDD. He's also very exciting and his name does have some cachet among MMA fans. You can market Hunt pretty easily, he has a good highlight reel.

And Struve has lost to others, but he hasn't lost to Cain yet. I think if Struve beat Hunt you could sell Struve as a legit contender. Most would predict Cain to obliterate him, but that's no different than their expectations for Bigfoot anyway. Struve also has clearly improved a ton since him getting KOed by Browne, I'm been very impressed by Struve's progress.

Also I'm so tired of rematches...the past couple years have seen how many rematches??? The UFC has gone way overboard with the damn rematches.

tonytr - It's really their only choice. Most people don't want to see a Cain/JDS rematch just yet, Cormier won't fight him, Mark Hunt's record makes it difficult to hand him the shot if he beats Struve, and I think they'd be hesitant to give one to Struve (if he beats Hunt) since he got KO'ed in the first round by two guys that are still "in the mix."

Actually I'd much prefer the Hunt-Struve winner getting the shot to Bigfoot. No one is going to forget how badly Bigfoot got ruined the first time.

And the Hunt-Struve winner would be a very legit contender. Whoever won that fight would be on a hell of a tear. You couldn't say they hadn't earned a title shot - Werdum is the only guy I'd rank higher in terms of contendership than the Struve-Hunt winner.

Hunt's overall record may not be good, but outside of McCorkle he's only lost to top guys. And he's clearly a very improved fighter since going to ATT, especially his TDD. He's also very exciting and his name does have some cachet among MMA fans. You can market Hunt pretty easily, he has a good highlight reel.

And Struve has lost to others, but he hasn't lost to Cain yet. I think if Struve beat Hunt you could sell Struve as a legit contender. Most would predict Cain to obliterate him, but that's no different than their expectations for Bigfoot anyway. Struve also has clearly improved a ton since him getting KOed by Browne, I'm been very impressed by Struve's progress.

Also I'm so tired of rematches...the past couple years have seen how many rematches??? The UFC has gone way overboard with the damn rematches.

I mostly agree. The thing is, Hunt will probably lose to Struve, and you can't deny that a win over Overeem is much bigger than Struve's last four wins. But yeah, he hasn't fought Cain yet, so there's that.

tonytr - I mostly agree. The thing is, Hunt will probably lose to Struve, and you can't deny that a win over Overeem is much bigger than Struve's last four wins. But yeah, he hasn't fought Cain yet, so there's that.

Struve is only a -165 to -175 favorite over Hunt, depending on the site. IMO it's a very tough fight to call.

Hunt winning should not be surprising at all. If he fights smart and can avoid Struve pulling guard, or gets up immediately if Struve pulls guard, he'll probably win. Hunt has very good TDD now and Struve's takedowns aren't that great.

Now Struve does have this magical ability to pull fights out of his ass, and he's been improving at a fast pace - especially his standup - so I can see why he's the favorite. But that's not some gimme fight at all.

And yeah, the fact that neither Hunt or Struve has faced Cain yet by itself makes that more marketable than Cain-Bigfoot II. I mean that fight was *so* lopsided. I think even without the cut, Bigfoot had no answers for Cain's GNP anyway.

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